Slowly but Surely- 325iX, 325iS, and E30M3 resurrection

[blue91lx]

Originally Posted by rocknrace03

the key is to not care.

should i care that my fozzy requires 2-3 quarts of both oil and coolant between fuel fill ups.... yes, but do i really?.... no, not at all. not enough to pull a motor anyway...

Oh I am 100% with you there, and will be the action plan once I have the non-negotiables figured out like water ingress, heater valve, etc etc. Almost there!

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The new rear springs settled after driving for a bit, and they worked out perfectly. The car feels like a million bucks now. The subframe bushing NHV was lessened to an acceptable level with proper shocks out back.

Re: HVAC mouse nest, I pulled the HVAC cover again to reorient the cover over the blower motor itself and sprayed a ton of air in there with fan on full blast and a vacuum and I think got most of it out. I have a newer heater core I'm going to put in when I swap the heater valve to hopefully get the rest of the nest!

I installed a MarkD chip and the car idles very low. Makes me wonder if, even though the ECUs were the same between Auto/manual cars if MarkD would tune differently for manual cars, causing it to idle low with the resistance of the torque converter.

Got hoopty #4 back on all fours! Did H&R OE Sports, KYBs, brakes all around, and a few other small odds/ends like ebrake cables/hardware, brake hoses, etc. Nice to have the suspension sorted! I know I keep saying it, but this car is really nice. When's the last time you pulled an ebrake cable right out of the housing without a fuss?

Oh, and after many long nights of coolant bleeding, the Forester is back in action! Feels great to drive the car a bit with all of the improvements before I sell it. With the new suspension, engine, turbo, clutch etc etc it really feels better than it ever has, under my ownership. I would not recommend anyone buy an older used turbo Subaru that hasn't been largely refreshed. This thing needed everything, and I was diligent about maintenance along the way.

Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr